


Empty Graves

by CoolMax30



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Chaptered, Comfort, Dad Reaper | Gabriel Reyes, Description of Overwatch characters, F/M, Family, Fluff and Angst, From perspective of McCree, Gen, Gency, Good Reaper, Hurt/Comfort, Kinda, Kinda?, Light Angst, M/M, McHanzo - Freeform, Multi, Reaper answers the recall, Reaper76 - Freeform, Uncle Jesse - Freeform, most of this is written at 2AM, overwatch reaper, recall, soft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-30
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2018-11-06 20:20:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11043609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoolMax30/pseuds/CoolMax30
Summary: Jesse expected many things when he answered the recall, but he never expected to see a ghost of his past.





	1. Gibraltar

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Everybody, thanks for reading my first fanfic, hope you enjoy the first chapter. I'll try to update this in short intervals of time, but I can't promise anything.

Jesse’s hand hovered above the “accept recall” button, remembering how it all ended last time. Gabe, Morrison, Ana, all too fresh in his memory. He took a deep breath and clicked the button. Three days later he was riding on a train to Gibraltar from Madrid, wearing a pair of dark jeans and a red flannel. He had forsaken his Stetson and boots for the sake of secrecy from any possible prying eyes seeking his bounty. The only problem so far was when a teenager had recognised him and asked for an autograph. While Jesse had obliged, he hurried off shortly thereafter. 

Winston had warned Jesse about a new security system that he had installed after an attack by a notorious hacker by the name of Sombra. He had told him that he would require biometric information that Angela had provided for each agent. Jesse hadn't had contact with anyone from Overwatch or Blackwatch since he had left, months before the fall. He had seen the corruption in the organisation back then, predicting, in some tragic manner, the fall of his idols. Jesse steeled himself and slid his information into the door lock.

The Gibraltar base buzzed with a certain energy, forgotten to Jesse for decades. It reminded him of when Gabriel had first brought him here and introduced him to Fareeha, Angela and Winston. Even now Jesse felt a bizarre awareness to Athena’s quiet watchfulness, the cameras always rotating to watch him, seemingly wary, as if he were dangerous. On each corner there was a control room or hidden medical supplies, clearly set up recently, as if planning for conflict or a training simulation in the base.

Winston was waiting by the door to his office, obviously happy to see him. “Jesse! Welcome back, you just missed Lena going out to pick up a few possible new recruits.” Winston ranted on, Jesse nodded noncommittally at each question, answering shortly, the way Gabe had taught him to back when Morrison had forced him to go to high end banquets and celebrations.

Once Winston ran him up to date about what would happen in the next week or so he told him to look around the facilities and take notice of the new specialised facilities for old and new agents who had accepted the recall. Jesse had searched up some of the new agents Winston had spoken to him about over the comms. Lucio, Hana Song, Roadhog, Junkrat, Symmetra, and one that especially interested him, Reaper. By the photos provided of him, the man looked like a mariachi, dressed in white, a guitar on his back, the only thing off about this agent was the mask, a bone chilling skull mask, covering his face. Jesse didn't know what to expect of this agent, far more cryptic than the others when it comes to appearances, Lucio with his frog aesthetic, and Hana with her famous pink mech. Jesse had not been able to find much background information on Reaper, stumbling only across the mysterious arrest of the Deadlock Gang’s old leader, who had sold out Jesse to give himself more time back when Blackwatch had picked him up.

Jesse thought back of what Winston had told him, something about new specialised training rooms for each agent. He decided to check them out and was pleasantly surprised, the facilities allowing space to roll between his enemies, targets off to the side, a balcony from which to use Deadeye against the moving training bots, one of them sporting a decently sized barrier, probably for him to perfect his combat against shielded enemies. Jesse had never really had a training facility to himself, and this made him incredibly happy, knowing somebody had gone through the effort of making him something this for him. He knew he was home.


	2. The New Overwatch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse meets the old and new recruits.

The next day Genji camThe next day Genji came to the base, his body white and green, bringing with him an omnic who he presented as his master and significant other, who had brought him to acceptance of his body and forgiveness of his brother. Jesse hadn't seen the younger Shimada since he had left Blackwatch, even though he had received the occasional mercenary request from the elders of the remnants of the Shimada clan to assassinate him, he would never accept them, always remembering how good of a friend he had been to him when no one else was there for him. Genji brought with him tales of remote lands, from Numbani to the radiated Australian outback, he had traveled far and wide in his search for enlightenment, which he has finally received in the form of the Iris, a religion embraced by Shambali monks in Nepal. While many things about Genji had changed, he was still the lovable friend that Jesse had found all those years ago, when both of them were yet unsure of where they were going in their lives. About a week later he met the famous Hana Song, energetic and kind, even inviting Jesse to a video game tournament later, to which Jesse declined, knowing he had lost any and all skill he might've had back before his Deadlock days. Jesse recognized Genji in her, joyful no matter what they had seen or done. Jesse had researched Hana before meeting her, seeing how she had joined the Korean military at such a young age. Hana had been friends with Lena for a while, coming into contact one or two years back, and because of that, she had become a close acquaintance of Winston, who had seen the potential in her and had sent her the recall. Hana was a soldier, young as she may be she had seen and felt pain like they all had. Jesse knew Hana would be a good captain someday, perhaps even commander. Lucio had arrived shortly thereafter Hana . Hana had been suggesting Lucio to Winston for quite some time, even though Winston had looked into his profile a few years before the recall. Lucio’s skillset spoke for itself, musician, medic, and freedom fighter, all by the age of twenty six. Jesse had heard of Lucio, the hero of the favelas, fighting against the monstrous actions of the famous Vishkar corporation. Lucio was nice to be around, always glowing with positivity and kindness, always willing to give a helping hand. At the moment Lucio was the one in charge of the “medbay”, a glowing yellow circle in front of the training area. At any time, Lucio could grab the “medbay” at any time and carry it with him to anyone in need of healing, which was barely anyone considering Zenyatta also had his Orb of Harmony for emergencies. Angela was supposed to arrive later in the week, taking care of an orphanage in Switzerland. Jesse missed Angela, even if she had reproached him for all of his bad habits, she had enabled him to quit his vices and lead a healthy life. Angela had been with him for as long as Gabe had, on the transport that had taken him to the Swiss watchpoint. She had been the closest thing he had had to a mother figure in Overwatch besides Ana. She had always been there to heal his wounds, in combat or after a particularly tough training session with Gabe or Genji. The Junkers were an odd pair, one of them large and intimidating, the other friendly and small, a duo which while terrifying in practice, rather endearing in day to day life, always taking care of one another. It was not hard to see that they would do around anything for one another, especially after what they had gone through in Australia. Winston was skeptical about inviting the Junkers, their criminal record leaving something to be desired. Some time after the Junkers came Satya Vaswani, who had been fired by Vishkar and had decided to join Overwatch, her expertise in hard light technology and combat experience had made her an important possible facet to Overwatch. Satya was elegant, solitary and stoic, only interacting cordially with people, and only seeming to be friendly to Lucio, united by their dislike of the Vishkar corporation, one whose life had been changed by Vishkar, and the other whose life had been Vishkar. Many days Satya could be found playing chess against Lucio or Winston over a cup of tea and light discussion. Both Reinhardt and Tjorbjorn had answered the recall, Reinhardt arriving with Brigitte and Tjorbjorn arriving with a large Bastion unit, who he claimed was harmless, claiming to have found them in the woods near where he lived around 3 years before the recall. The Bastion unit was intimidating, looming above most people, a bird perched on his shoulder, always affectionate to the omnic. Zenyatta and Genji often communicated with the Bastion unit, sometimes having to translate for the omnic. While Jesse enjoyed the time with the new recruits, he was still awaiting what was to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I promise Reaper will pop up in the next chapter. I always appreciate Kudos and comments. Thanks for reading so far!


	3. Reyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse reminisces about the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lack of updates, I hope that more chapters will soon be here, for now, please enjoy.

There were murmurs of a sighting of Soldier 76 in Dorado. They said something about the vigilante hunting down Los Muertos, who had supposedly been working with Talon a few weeks ago. Jesse had taken a distaste to 76 ever since he had seen him on the news w few years ago. He reminded him too much of Morrison, his posture, his weapon, it was as if Morrison had reincarnated into this man after he died in Switzerland. Winston had sent out an invitation to the vigilante, to see if he would become a part of Overwatch, much to Jesse's disapproval.

Fareeha had called some days later to tell Jesse and the rest of the old Overwatch about a letter she had received from someone that claimed to be her mother. Fareeha had immediately denied the possibility to herself, but Jesse could hear the hope in her voice. Jesse had been in contact with Fareeha since he had joined the military, Jesse always there to provide moral support. Ana had been Jesse’s teacher, teaching how to be a true sharpshooter. She and Reyes had been the ones that had taught him most of his skills. If it weren't for Ana Jesse would never have lasted as long as he did in Blackwatch. Jesse would never forget when Ana had taught him Deadeye, sleepless nights, migraines, the extreme concentration he needed to have for it. Ana had always been there for him, even when Reyes was away.

Jesse missed Reyes, he had been the closest thing to a father he had had. Reyes was more of a father to him than his real father, who had left him before he was even born, leaving his mother alone with Jesse, struggling to get enough money for basic needs. That was why Jesse had joined Deadlock by 16, he had hoped to help his mother by giving her the money she would need to provide for them. Once Blackwatch had taken Jesse in he had asked Morrison if they would be able to find any free housing for his mother to live safely in. Even in his time as a vigilante Jesse had visited her each week, bringing her his Blackwatch salary, which he didn't need since he was fed and attended to. Reyes had known about his mother, at one point going to meet her with Jesse, wanting to talk to her about her son and his line of work. By the end of the hour Jesse’s mother had endeared herself to Gabe, and they were sharing embarrassing stories about Jesse, both in his childhood and in Blackwatch. Soon after Jesse swore to never allow Reyes to tag along with him ever again. A week later Gabriel was having tea and watching a soap opera with his mother. 

Jesse had always been grateful that it had been Reyes who had found him in Deadlock, and not Morrison. Jack had in no means been a bad person, or a heartless soldier, he had been placed in command or Overwatch for a reason. Yet Jesse knew, that deep down Reyes had seen himself inside of Jesse. However, Jesse couldn't stop himself from thinking what would have happened had Morrison taken him in and made him join Overwatch. Would he have turned out to be the same person he was today? 

Reyes had been a soldier, a real one, not hiding behind a desk or a screen, on the front line, running the ops nobody wanted to run, making the calls nobody wanted to make. Sure, Morrison and Amari went on missions and got blood on their hands, but they dealt with what Reinhardt called clean cuts, simple and clear, no possible collateral damage, almost as if stunted for television. As the years went on and Overwatch was past it's honeymoon stage the intel on these missions became more and more misleaded, as if there were moles in Overwatch, tearing at it from the inside.

Before long it was obvious that everything was falling apart, between the UN pressuring from outside, and the corruption spreading within, it was only a matter of time before Overwatch would reach it's end. Jesse knew this, clear as day, and knew he had to leave before he became part of the collateral damage. The thought to leave had been in his mind for a long time, his few belongings packed and ready for quick evacuation. Reyes had been the final motive behind his departure, coming to him at night after a failed mission, shaking and telling him that it wasn't safe anymore, that he couldn't leave, but that Jesse had to. Two days later Jesse left Overwatch, and three weeks later the Swiss HQ exploded, leaving Jesse to see the death of his Morrison and Reyes live on TV. He never went to their graves to grieve them. He didn't need a tombstone to tell him what he already knew.


	4. The Reaper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse meets a ghost of his past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have not touched this in months, and I apologize. I hope to be continuing this for perhaps two more chapters after this before calling it complete. Please enjoy this chapter, and stay tuned for the next ones.

Two weeks after Jesse had arrived to Gibraltar came Reaper, the infamous vigilante, in a fully white apparel including a hat, shotguns and a cape. It was telling just from looking at him that he counted on his enemies’ fear, more than making up in firepower for stealth, or lack thereof. There was a hazy quality to him, almost as if he was composed of smoke. He nodded to Winston, with the closest expression to respect that could be displayed with a skull mask. Jesse recognized Reaper's gait, yet he didn't remember where he could've seen it before.

For days after Reaper had arrived at the watchpoint, he never approached Jesse. It was almost as if he was avoiding him, yet, there had been occasions wherein Jesse had caught him looking in his direction, with a certain melancholy. Reaper as a whole seemed familiar to Jesse, from his posture to his shotguns. He could swear that he had met him at some point before, perhaps in a long forgotten dream. 

It was when Jesse was training in the practice room that Reaper came up to him, his being wispy as a cloud, or smoke from a fire. “I’d been thinking I’d have met you by now. You look mighty familiar, might I have met ya before now?” Reaper let out a light gravelly chuckle. “Hello Jess” in the second after Reaper muttered those words Jesse's mind crashed with revelation. Reyes. That was why he had seemed so familiar to him both in profile and gait. It had been his dead commander. His voice had confirmed it, while much raspier and gravelly it still had the same air of familiarity he had come to miss and mourn over the years.

“Boss?” Jesse gasped, almost a whisper. “Something along those lines, kid, something along those lines.” Reaper then proceeded to remove his owl-like mask, revealing a facsimile of Gabriel Reyes’ face, his eyes now red, his skin gray, scars riddling his flesh. Jesse staggered backwards, shock gripping his chest like a snake. He had never expected to see Gabe again, with reason, and to not only see him again but to see this caricature of his boss, rough and ragged, yet still Gabe. 

It took Jesse a second to organize his thoughts and say with a shaky voice, “we mourned you,” “I know, kid, trust me when I tell you I know. I’m sorry Jess, God knows I didn’t want this.” Jesse could feel tears welling up in his eyes. “How are you alive, Gabe?” Gabriel chuckled “Technically I’m not, Jesse,” “What do you mean?”

Reaper took a deep breath “Where to start, huh, I don’t even remember most of it. Do you remember the experiments that Moira did on me? I woke up three days after the Swiss HQ explosion in some sort of Talon base. Moira had joined Talon, she left a couple weeks before the explosion. She defected, Jesse. It turns out the experiments she did on me saved my life. She wanted me to join Talon, to make me a puppet of Talon, to kill off Overwatch for good. Apparently I’m made of some shit she called nanobots.” Jesse was sitting down now, tears openly falling from his eyes. Gabe smiled and put a hand on his shoulder, sympathy in his glowing red eyes. “Come here, kid.” He opened his arms, and Jesse practically jumped into his embrace. “You’re an old man now, Gabe, why did you come back here? Overwatch killed you, what do you owe to this damned organization?” Gabriel smiled, a chuckle growing from deep within his throat. “Kid, I thought I taught you better than this. I know you’ve seen it too, this time it’s different. The last time the heart of it was corrupted, it was rotten down to the core, Jess. I know that's the reason you left.”

Jesse broke away from the hug to look Gabriel in the eyes and wipe away his tears. “Gabe, what have you been doing these years?” Gabriel’s expression changed, morphing into something more sad, more serious, no longer a happy and whimsical air to him. “Talon tried to brainwash me, as they did to Amelie. I saw her, her skin was blue, she felt nothing, when i saw her she didn't show any emotion, she just thought of me as a project. I went through torture for days on end. They almost broke me, kid. After whole days I decided to pretend that they had succeeded into turning me into one of their own. I got them to make me a disguise and shotguns, like the ones I used to have. I played along with their act for a few months until I gained their trust. It was on my fourth month working with them that I sabotaged their operations and left, killing as many of them as I could. After that I went into vigilante work, some good mercenary work, trying to find all of you. I knew I couldn’t make contact, not yet, I knew I had to wait.”

“I'm glad you’re here now, Gabe, we’ve missed you.”


	5. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse remembers, perhaps not under the best of circumstances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody, I'm really sorry I haven't updated in so long. Focusing on one piece of writing and writing a lot can be hard for me sometimes, and I really appreciate all the support and the patience. Thank you and enjoy!

There were questions that were left unasked in the new Overwatch. They ranged from how Hana always showed up tucked into her bed after falling asleep across the base post-late night gaming streak (some people claimed to hear spurs in the middle of the night but nothing could be confirmed) to what happened to Morrison and Amari. Even the new members had heard stories of how close Reyes had been to both of them. Only the older members of the organization knew his full connection to them. He had loved them both, even the rookies new. Amari was a friend, and Morrison was his fiancee. Jesse and Genji knew he still wore the promise ring under his gloves, a sign of the promise they weren’t able to fulfill before the fall of the organization. 

It was when the three of them were having lunch by the cliffsides that Reyes smiled and broke the silence between them by saying “Jack and Ana are alive, they’ll be by in a couple months.” He said the words with such a casual air, as if he weren’t saying it about someone who had been dead for years. Genji looked at Jesse, and even through the green lights of the mask Jesse could feel the worry and confusion in him.

\---

Jesse and Genji had been as close as brothers, closer, even, in Genji’s case. Jesse knew every single one of his expressions, from melancholy to anger or, in what used to be the rarest of occasions, happiness. There was one expression that Jesse still had a hard time figuring out. Love. However, it had been more and more present ever since he had returned to Gibraltar. It was a common, well known fact that Genji had, in the olden days of the original Overwatch, had an obvious love for Angela, ever since she saved his life. Genji had never confided it to anyone, full of his unbridled rage and anger towards the Shimada clan, seeking nothing but death to the family. He had no time to seek after things such a childish crush. Yet, what Genji knew not, was that Angela returned the affection. Before they both knew it, Overwatch was collapsing and Genji had left to find inner peace. Now who knew what would happen with them. Oxton had started a betting pool on when they would get together. Most people on base, including the recluses, such as the newly (un)converted Amelie and the ever so reclusive Symmetra had put money on it.

\---

Genji and Jesse stared at each for a few seconds before Genji spoke up. “What do you mean by that, Gabriel?” Gabe chuckled and put a hand on both of their shoulders. “I should’ve told you two. I’ve been in contact with them for a while now, sort some shit out with them before coming here. I miss them a lot, and I’m so incredibly glad that I didn't… lose them.”

Jesse put out his cigar and put his hands to his face, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. The fucking nonchalance in his voice. That’s what did him in, how lightly he was talking about people they’d loved. How was Gabriel not torn by this? Why had the three of them hidden themselves away, how had they had the gall to hurt them like this? Damn being in danger or whatever excuse they would use, he mourned them! To Jesse they were dead, but rather than having the bare decency to reveal their goddamn lie to him they paraded around doing whatever the hell they wanted with no regard for anyone else. 

He felt like his lungs were closing in on themselves, the air around him thick and toxic. Before Gabriel could finish saying something or other about Jack and Ana that Jesse hadn’t been listening to he stood up quickly and almost under his breath muttered “I need a minute,” before storming off to his dormitory.

Jesse laid down on his dormitory twin bed and closed his eyes, feeling a burst of sensory overload coming on from the stress. He needed some time to think, or, in truth, let his thoughts fester. To his mind came times between the fall of Overwatch and now, times when he was a pitiful vigilante on the road, more often than not drunk, stuck in mourning for the heroes of his past, people that took him in and cared about him only to die. He had no one while on his travels, and he rarely took comfort in it, the grief and isolation breaking to his core. That was the reason he had hesitated to take the invitation to join the new Overwatch. He was so scared of losing everyone, for a second time. He was scared that the organization that built him would die out again and leave him more of a husk than the last time.

But now, lying there in bed, wallowing in a sense of remorse and dissatisfaction, to Jesse's mind came the wonderful memories that he had made in his month here at Gibraltar. He thought of the time that he had tea with Mei and Reinhardt, and how Reinhardt and Jesse had spoken to her about what had happened all the time she was in the ice, albeit about very different fields. He remembered giving Hana tips on how to use her little pistol, out of seeing her on the battlefield and feeling his protective instincts kick in. He recalled getting his ass beat on the battlefield and having to be taken back to the Hovercraft, where Lucio bandaged his wounds, played some music and told him stories of Brazil. 

He thought of Hanzo, Genji's older brother, who, after plenty explanations and weeks he understood was a better person than the fratricidal scum Genji had sworn vengeance on in the Blackwatch days. He thought of the times they had enjoyed together, training, speaking, working, and as of late, sleeping together. Hanzo, were he not across the world on a mission, would know how to calm Jesse down right now. He was the calm lapping tide that contrasted the hidden but passionate ardor Jesse was prone to feel at times.

To his mind came the time, back in the old days, shortly after he was recruited, when he and his team went on a risky operation that went wrong, leaving his team dead except for Liam, Rodriguez, and him. He reminisced about that afternoon in the med bay, with Angela fretting about them and Moira telling her to calm down from her desk, Ana sitting beside him and sneaking the three of them whiskey, only to get reprimanded by both Jack and Angie. How that very afternoon Gabe came in and gave him a pseudo monologue about not getting hurt, visibly distraught as he did so. 

From that, as quickly as his scorn came about, it faded. He was, without having to dig down too deep, ecstatic that Jack, Ana, and Gabriel were alive. They had raised him and taken care of him, and he owed them a second chance. They sure as hell gave him one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this chapter, I don't know if I will write much more of this, but I want to continue it for now. I appreciate that you guys have read this, even with all the waiting and bumps in the road. Thank you.
> 
> My Tumblr is cool-max-30 if you want to send me asks or messages or anything.


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